Everything Under the Sun
by Hyatt Insomnia
Summary: [NejiNaru. For Triste.] Neji, Naruto, fluff, angst, kisses, fights, and well, everything under the sun. And it all started because Naruto didn't wear warm clothing.
1. Thoughts and Blizzards

**Everything Under the Sun**  
**Rated**: PG-13  
**Pairing**: NejiNaru  
**Background Pairing(s)**: TenSaku and GaiKaka  
**Disclaimer**: Naruto is property of Kishimoto Masashi, not me. ^__^;  
**Warnings**: Shonen-ai, light yaoi, fluff, angst, corny-ness, and spoilers.  
**Dedication**: This fiction is dedicated to **Triste-sama**, a wonderful friend (and master) of mine. She wanted to see a NejiNaru story so she got one.  
**Notes**: This is done for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) and basically is just something silly.   
  
It's called "Everything Under the Sun" since it's just a fiction that bashes out cliché tactics from the infamous "warm you when you're cold" approach to the "accidental" kiss. Which means it's 50,000 words of me being an idiot. I thought this would be a fun way to get out all of the mindless ideas that pop inside of my head, so hell, I went for it. So enjoy my over-tacky and detailed story. XD  
  
I do intend to proofread this later on. So for now, please mind any idiotic mistakes that might appear. Although, if some wonderful, wonderful person would like to proofread this for me, I will forever worship the ground they walk on. I hate proofreading my own stories.

**Chapter One**: Thoughts and Blizzards

The winds were hash, blowing ice-hard snowflakes into his cold flushed cheeks. The ground beneath his feet was completely covered in the same ice-like snow. Each step he took sank down into the surface, leaving his foot in ankle covered in cold dew. 

He had known that the Water Country had colder climates than that of the Fire Country. He had known months before this particular mission. Yet he had stupidly brought along nothing more than his normal orange colored jumpsuit to keep him warm. Now he was paying for it.

Naruto shivered, hugging his arms tightly around himself as he trudged through the thick bedding of snow underneath his wet feet. He swore if he didn't get out of the snow soon they would ice over from the harsh cold. 

What exactly had gone through his mind when he decided he didn't need anything more than what he normally wore? The image of Naruto grinning from ear to ear, standing in front of Shikamaru—who happened to be the leader of the mission, once again—and announcing that there was no way a little snow would get to him. What an idiot he had been. Neji—the other member of the three-man team that had been chosen—had quickly told him that he would be paying for it later.

As always, Neji was right. Why did he always have to be right? Him and Shikamaru were like the know-alls of the universe. Not only that but the two also seemed to have some sort of telepathic connection. They always knew what the other one was planning or thinking. It was kind of creepy. 

Why did Naruto have to get stuck with the creepy know-it-all anyways? He was loud and bullheaded unlike the other two. They always seemed to be calm and collected in any sort of situation. Actually, Naruto was just about the exact opposite of both of them in every way possible. Still, every time they had a mission that required three people or more, they'd always be stuck together. 

Over time Naruto had come to the resounding conclusion that it was Tsunade's way of torturing him. But that wasn't quite true. Tsunade would do just about anything to protect Naruto, not torture him. 

Then why were these three always stuck together? Because it worked. Even with Naruto's contrasting personality, they just seemed to work together better than most people did. Maybe Naruto _did_ have the weird telepathic link that the other two seemed to share and didn't even know about it. It wouldn't be the first time that something like that had happened, as Naruto was rather slow and often oblivious to whatever was going on in his surroundings. 

Anyways, this time they had been sent to the Water Country. Why? Naruto couldn't remember. He vaguely recalled Shikamaru saying things along the lines of "utmost importance" and "we all could possible die on this mission", but Naruto hadn't bothered to pay attention to much more than that. 

All Naruto knew was that they were taking a small break to warm up and he had offered to go get some wood for a fire. Big mistake. Very big mistake. Shikamaru was the only one who really knew his way around the Water Country—due to maps, naturally—and also happened to have the warmest clothing. Which was odd considering that Neji seemed to be the warmest. Along with many other freakish and odd things Neji seemed to have an insanely high tolerance for cold. Well, at least he did for someone coming from a country with warmer climate. 

Still, it would've been best if Shikamaru had ventured out rather than Naruto. But with Naruto being Naruto, it wasn't going to happen. He had stubbornly refused to let anyone aside from himself scout the area. 'I'll be warm,' he said. 'It won't take me long at all,' he said. Man was he an idiot.

Now was about the time that Naruto was beginning to realize it too. He had been gone for at least an hour, the other two nowhere inside, and somewhere along the way the snow had started to fall harder. In short, there wasn't much chance for him finding any wood that wouldn't be wet and useless making this the appropriate time to return to the other two.

Except, he was lost. Had been for a while. The area around him was completely white from being covered with snow. Hell, even the sky looked white. Everywhere he looked, white, white, white. It was frustrating. 

Even the roots of trees that reached a long way out from the trunk were now white, blending in with the white area around it. Thus it had been easy for Naruto to miss them and his foot to come in contract with one of the white covered tree roots. "Shit!" Naruto yelled loudly as he stumbled to the ground, landing face first.

Great, just great. Now he was completely wet and if the throbbing pain in his foot was anything to go by, he had twisted it. Basically, he wasn't going to be going anywhere for a while. Not that that had ever stopped Naruto before. 

Being that he was extremely stubborn by nature, Naruto believed that his throbbing foot wasn't a hindrance. Nor did he consider the fact that his body was currently so cold that it felt more like it was burning than freezing. Nope, it was nothing at all. 

Naruto felt around the snow for something more solid that he'd be able to balance himself on. Oddly enough the thing that he ended up finding was the very tree root that had tripped him. He pushed up with both of his hands and planted his feet firmly into the ground. Or would've had a sharp pain not shot up his leg the very moment he pressed his foot against the ground. Naruto fell forward for a second time, his face hitting the snow-covered ground. 

"You really are an idiot." Naruto scrunched his nose against the snow. He knew that voice. It was deep, slightly sarcastic sounding, but mostly monotone. 

He lifted head up just enough so that he could turn his azure eyes to the figure hovering over him. Loose flecks of snow fell from his hair and skin because of the motion. Unsurprisingly, when his eyes turned upwards he found himself staring right into white eyes. 

Another thing that was white. The color seemed to be inescapable. It haunted him. It plotted against him. And even worse, because of the fact that his companion's eyes were completely white, it made them unreadable. 

"Neji, you bastard!" Naruto yelled though his words were slightly muffled by the snow, in which his face was still buried in. "Don't mock me, help me up!"

Neji smirked down at his fallen comrade. Not that the other could see it, but he was sure that Naruto would know it was there. "Do you want me to carry you while I'm at it?" he asked, his voice sounding serious although it was obvious that the question wasn't.

"Don't be an ass either!" Naruto fumed. "Just help me up already!"

"You're grumpy when you're wet," Neji said, more thinking aloud than making an actual statement. 

Apparently Naruto didn't seem to catch that Neji's comment was just voiced musing and proceeded to yell at him to 'hurry the hell up'. Needless to say, nothing more than mere moments later Naruto found himself standing on one foot, with one arm around Neji's neck and one of Neji's arms around his waist. 

For some reason that seemed a little odd to Naruto and he began shifting through his mind for something to say. Although the silence that seemed to come over the two wasn't uncomfortable—in fact, far from it—he felt the need to say something. Anything. It didn't matter. If he needed to Naruto would result to talking about the process of making potato chips. Just anything to get away from the silence and to take his mind off of the fact that Neji's arm was currently snugly wrapped around his waist. The action seemed so natural too.

"So, uh, where's Shikamaru?" Naruto asked. Shikamaru was a safe, not awkward subject that he could rely on. Plus he did find it a little odd that Neji showed up sans the lazy shinobi.

"We split up in order to find you," Neji explained. "We're supposed to meet him back in an alleyway that we found within an hour of leaving to find you and will most likely end up staying there until the snow dies down. It's not too far from here so it shouldn't be hard to get you back there." 

"You sound like a machine when you say that," Naruto pointed out with a nod of his head as Neji helped him walk along. "Either that or one of those really old teachers that have been stating facts so long they've lost all the tone in their voice. Damn Neji, you're already an old man machine at seventeen!"

"You're idiotic," Neji replied simply. 

At this, Naruto squint having the urge to jump and point an offended finger at Neji. Of course the condition of his foot inhibited him from doing so. Instead he settled for the childish, "Am not," defense and a pout.

Just as Neji had said before, the alleyway wasn't too far away from where he had found Naruto. It had to have taken them more than fifteen minutes to get there. Well, that's what it felt like at any rate. Whether or not it actually had taken them fifteen or fifty minutes to arrive there was really impossible to tell. At least for Naruto.

The blonde blinked a few times as Neji helped him get seated on the lightly snow-covered floor of the alley. He would've questioned if the older male had any ulterior motives had it not been for two things. One: he couldn't think of what those motives would be. And two: a question that soon followed made it clear that it was out of concern from an injured teammate. More or less…

"Does your foot hurt?"

Once again Naruto blinked a few times contemplating the question for a moment. Really, one shouldn't have to contemplate whether or not their own foot is in pain but for some reason, Naruto had to. That was until Neji reached forward, pushing up the end of Naruto's orange jumper. 

Just as Naruto was about to smack Neji upside the head and yell 'Pervert!' over and over he saw the other staring at him with an odd expression. "Did you feel that?" the Hyuga boy asked. 

For a third time, Naruto blinked. "Feel what?" he answered with another question. Man, Neji seemed to be losing his mind.

Neji shook his head slightly, moving his hands from where they had been pressing onto Naruto's swollen ankle. He then poked Naruto's arm, earning him an odd look from the poked blonde. "How about that?"

"You dolt! Would you stop poking me?!" Naruto yelled. 

"Would you just answer the question," Neji replied sounding a bit agitated. Although to Naruto, his voice still sounded monotonic.

"Uh…well, no, I didn't," Naruto finally answered, giving Neji another weird look.

"You've been out in the cold too long." The comment earned Neji a 'well duh' look from his blonde companion. Another poke to the arm quickly wiped that look off of his face. What was with Neji and the obsessive poking?

Naruto scrunched his nose up in thought as Neji took hold of his hands, wrapping his own around them. His fingers were rubbing the skin in soothing circular motions. Had Naruto not known that Neji was using such actions to help warm him back up, he'd wonder about any sort of underlining meaning the actions had.

Actually, even though he knew that, Naruto couldn't help but wonder whether or not there was some sort of underlining meaning to the actions. He turned his eyes upwards from the two sets of hands to the other shinobi's face. Neji was looking downwards, his thick black lashes covering his white eyes, with his lips pressed firmly together. 

Come to think of it Naruto often found Neji with his lips pressed together like that. They'd always become nothing more than a thin, stretched out line whenever he was thinking or heavily concentrating on a matter. 

"What are you think about?" Naruto asked. His voice was hushed although he couldn't comprehend why. 

He had been expecting Neji's eyes to turn upwards. Instead they didn't falter. They only stared with their blank sort of gaze—the eyebrows above them the only indication of any emotions—at Naruto's hand. And then came the softly spoken reply, "I wasn't thinking of anything." The normally cool and confident voice, the one that always sounded so proud and intimating, came out in nothing more than a mere whisper. 

What was it about this situation that made it hushed words appropriate? What was it that made it seem as if yelling or even speaking as he would normally seem to be a most unforgivable sin? Naruto couldn't even begin to grasp the answer. 

"Did you know you press your lips together whenever you're thinking?" Naruto more mused aloud than replied. Neji's thumb brushed over the top of his hand at that moment, causing Naruto to shiver. It hit one of the less numb parts calling forth little electric prickles to the surface. 

"I hadn't noticed," Neji replied, rubbing his hands more firmly over Naruto's skin. "You cold?"

That comment earned him a deadpan sort of look. He briefly took his eyes away from Naruto's and his hands, letting his gaze fix on Naruto's face. The expression that Naruto currently wore brought a smile to his lips. "Stupid question, I know," Neji commented lightly. Then once again his eyes were fixated on the pair of hands.

"Uh, yeah," Naruto replied, still staring at Neji's face. He moved his elbow upwards to nudge the other in the side. "Hey, Neji," he said, not surprised when a grunt was the only sort of a response he got from the Hyuga boy. "Why are you being so nice?"

"Should I be offended by that remark?" Neji responded dryly. His features had once again pulled themselves into that thoughtful frown with his lips tightly pressed together. 

Naruto blinked a few times, obviously not getting why Neji would be offended by his comment. Which basically meant that he didn't notice that he had implied that Neji wasn't nice in the first place. 

In the end he ended up shrugging it off and just elaborating on his question. "You're always so," Naruto paused briefly, his eyes squinted and his nose scrunched as he tried to think of the best word to describe how Neji acted, "so serious all the time. Actually at times you remind me of that old geezer Hokage. You explain things without much emotion but now…you're not like that. You're smiling and acting like, well, a mother, giving me your jacket and rubbing my hands to keep them warm. It's not something that I would expect from you. "

A low, faint hint of a chuckle arose from Neji's throat. He shook his head momentarily. "Naruto," he said still shaking his head, "metaphors aren't your thing. Only you would compare me to both the third and a mother."

At this Naruto scowled. He was in denial that he was very bad at comparisons and was tempted to defend his metaphor skills (whatever those happened to be). However before Naruto got the chance to say anything, he was interrupted. Whether or not this interruption was good or not was beyond him. He just was.

Neji had moved his hands closer to his lips and was now blowing heated breaths on the cold skin. Somehow Naruto found himself transfixed by the other's actions. He watched the movement of Neji's lifts as he blew the hot breaths upon him, studied the way those thick black lashes covered half of his white eyes, and how Neji's burrows became knitted together in concentration, even over such a small thing. 

"I think if my hands got any warmer they'd burn," Naruto said weakly after a moment. 

The comment made Neji blink a few times. He hadn't realized how caught up in warming Naruto's hands he had been. "Feeling any warmer?" 

"A little," Naruto replied. "How about you? Are you cold?"

There was a moment of silence before Naruto received his simple one word answer, "No." It was obvious that it was a lie. Neji's lips were pale and turning a light blue. His cheeks were flushed from the harsh cold. Every so often he would shiver. 

It wasn't surprising seeing as he had given Naruto his coat and was now only left in his normal clothing and a light sweater. In other words, he wasn't exactly fit to deal with such harsh weather conditions.

Naruto surprised both Neji and himself as he slipped one of his arms out of the coat, thankful for the fact that it was large as he forced it around the other shinobi's body. "Idiot," he said with a frown, "you don't have to lie to me. It's obvious that you're cold."

Unfortunately the new position made it uncomfortable for the both of them. Not only were they awkwardly pressed together but also it was just bizarre to be huddled up like they were. Although Neji wasn't too bothered by the discomfort of their position, it seemed to bother Naruto greatly. The blonde shifted and twitched about trying to find the perfect and most comfortable position to be sitting in. 

Eventually Naruto figured out that the only way it was going to work was if he was closer to Neji. He moved his legs so they were of Neji and crooked his head so it was pressed up against the other's shoulder. Sure he was basically sitting in Neji's lap and snuggled up against him but at least it was _comfortable_. Very comfortable actually.

In fact Naruto was getting a little sleepy just by lying there. The notion of a taking a nap didn't sound too bad at that moment. Truthfully, it was fairly tempting. A soft yawn escaped Naruto as he pondered the notion of sleeping. 

The more he thought about it the more tempting it became. The thoughts caused him to unconsciously snuggle closer into the body he was currently pressed against. His face was now comfortable placed in the crook of Neji's neck. On top of that Naruto was no longer just sprawling his legs over Neji's lap but instead he was sitting it. 

Not that Naruto cared. Nor did he notice. 

He had even missed that Neji was no completely tensed beneath him and that his breaths had becoming uneven as if he were panicking. Which Neji just happened to be—all inwardly, of course. Outwardly the only sign of panic that Neji displayed was, well, the uneven breaths. 

Having Naruto bunched up in his lap wasn't exactly something he had anticipated. Nor had he anticipated the fact that the blonde seemed to be so comfortable with balling himself up against his body. It wasn't an uncomfortable situation—not in the slightest bit (a thought in which made Neji furrow his brows in thought)—just different. 

Neji would've never thought that he'd enjoy having Naruto so close to him. Sure, taking care of him was fine and seemed to come natural to him, as odd as it was, but this was something on a completely different level. 

Without even thinking about it Neji found himself sliding his arms around Naruto's slender form. They were now pressed completely up against each other. Naruto's breath falling warmly upon the little bit of exposed skin of Neji's neck and jaw. 

It seemed that Naruto had given into his earlier sleeping urges. His eyes were closed as he contently laid there, the world around him seeming to disappear. Had it not been for the fact that his body had that sort of dull, stinging pain it got whenever it came out of numbness Naruto would've completely forgotten about the snow around him and that he was huddled up inside of Neji's arms.

Closing his own eyes, Neji rested his head on top of Naruto's. He didn't understand exactly what had gotten into him. Or more correctly, what exactly had gotten into him at that moment. He would've never thought that holding Naruto was something that he'd enjoy. 

Or even that he could actually _care_ for the blonde boy. 

Did he care? Well, considering how much effort he had put into making Naruto warm, it was safe to say that he did. It was surprising, but at the same time… it made a lot of sense. 

His fight with Naruto back when he was still a Genin had been a turning point for Neji. That much was obvious. He hadn't thought that he would lose. At least not to Naruto and not right then. But he had and it changed a lot.

Although that seemed to be far from the answer. Just because Naruto defeating him had changed his life didn't mean he had to actually _care_ about him. Then why did he…?

Maybe it was because Naruto was appealing in some ways. Whereas Neji himself was quite and reserved, Naruto was the loud and in-your-face type. Naruto's complete opposite personality could be the very thing that caught Neji's attention. After all, ever since he had first notice—seeing how he saw him quite a few times before he _noticed_ him—Neji had known that Naruto was an interesting guy.

Then again it could also be much simpler than that.

It's true that Naruto's unique personality and extreme determination was appealing. That was, once you got used to it. The first times spent around Naruto those same qualities that grew to be more attractive are annoying. 

So maybe it wasn't those things at all. Maybe it was because he was just…Naruto. Whatever reasons might come along with that were fine, although it would probably help to find out exactly where all of this was coming from if Neji actually _knew_ when he originally started to care for Naruto.

Because of this the only conclusion that Neji was able to come with was that he cared. So he couldn't explain exactly why it felt good to have Naruto lying so peacefully in his arms or why he found the other's odd scent—that wasn't unlike ramen with the underlining animalistic scent—appealing. He just knew that he did. Just as he knew, somewhere deep at the bottom of his heart, that this was most likely going to be his only chance to experience it. 

Before Neji could even begin to ponder where that last thought had come from the soft sound of footsteps crunching against the thick blanket of snow broke him from his thoughts. He didn't need to look in order to tell that those footsteps belonged to Shikamaru.

Sure enough, moments later the familiar deep, but obviously laid-back voice reached his ears. "Sleeping in the middle of a blizzard is something that I expect Naruto, but certainly not you," Shikamaru said simply. The knowing undertone in which his voice came out was not missed. 

"Only an idiot would sleep during a blizzard," Neji replied, finally opening his eyes. He didn't bother to move away from Naruto or try to make some sort of excuse. It would be pointless anyways. Even if he tried and maybe even lied, Shikamaru would know exactly what was going on. He just had that way of understanding. 

There was the sound of snow crunching as Shikamaru moved to sit next to the pair, a thoughtful expression on his face. "I didn't think the snow would reach this area," he mused.

"It's only a thin layer," Neji pointed out. "And it's what's being blown up off the buildings by the wind. It could be a lot worse."

There was a long pause, not really comfortable but not quite uncomfortable either. That's how it always with Shikamaru. And then a question, "How long do you think it's going to snow like this?" 

"It could be a while," was the answer. 

Shikamaru turned his head to look at Neji. He noted the contented look on the other shinobi's features. It was rare to see such an expression on Neji's face. He normally looked, well, serious for lack of better word. He also noted the faint blush that was currently brushed across Neji's cheeks. 

That was something that Shikamaru was unwilling to leave untouched. "That's not from the cold, is it?" he questioned without any specifics, knowing that Neji would catch onto what it was that he was saying with or without them. 

Neji turned his head, his brows knitted and his lips curved into a small frown. "I don't know what you're talking about," he answered. He knew _exactly_ what Shikamaru was talking about.

"Naruto," Shikamaru said, chuckling to himself. "I never would've guessed."


	2. Discussions and Showers

**Notes**: Hello, hello! Does anyone actually read these things? Ah well, for those who do, it's more fun, ne? This chapter ended up being quite angsty, even though it wasn't intended. And I'm sure that half of the world will hate me for how I end this. However the next chapter is pretty funny and I'm sure that it will more than make up for it.  
  
First I would like to answer a question. It's been asked what everyone's age is in this. Naruto, Shikamaru, and that age group are all 16, whereas Neji, Lee, and TenTen's age group is 17. Basically just add 4 years onto all of their ages.  
  
Also, funny thing. **Jade Maxwell** wants to write fanfiction for this fic. You'll understand why halfway through this chapter. Oooh.

**Chapter Two**: Discussions and Showers

A week had passed since the three returned from their mission at the Water Country. It was something that had long since passed, except for one simple thing. Neji was going absolutely insane. He couldn't stop thinking about how it had felt to have his arms wrapped around Naruto, the blonde male's breath playing over his skin. 

He was loosing his mind. 

Maybe something close to it if not that exactly, but it had to be _something_. There was no logical explanation for why exactly Naruto had planned himself into Neji's thoughts. Except that there was. Neji just refused to accept it. 

This whole thing was unlike him. Neji wasn't used to being the one with the major emotional crisis. He always knew exactly where he stood somewhere. In situation however he couldn't even begin to understand where he stood. The thought was driving him up a wall. Even worse was that this all happened because that moronic fox-boy had made the mistake of wearing his normal clothing. 

_This_ wouldn't be happening if Naruto had just worn appropriate attire for cold weather. Neji wouldn't have to be dealing with the thoughts and feelings both of which he shouldn't even have in the first place. 

Yet he did. Why exactly was completely beyond him. Neji couldn't understand it. Shikamaru seemed to grasp the subject perfectly. He always had that knowing look in his eye and quite frankly, it was irritating for Neji to see. The whole 'feelings for Naruto' thing had been much more clear to him when he had first realized it. 

Now that time was over and absolutely nothing made sense anymore. Furthermore Neji couldn't seem to do anything but sit in his room and mulling over the situation over and over. He kept picking at it and picking at it, trying to make sense out of it but it made absolutely none at all. 

He cared for Naruto. _Naruto_. Of all the people to care for he had to care for the loudmouth blonde idiot and first person to ever defeat him in a fight. It was ridiculous. 

Neji stopped pacing around his room for a moment, standing on the spot. He turned his head, looking over his shoulder. Behind him with his normal lazy expression on his face stood Shikamaru leaning up against the wall of his room with his arms crossed over his chest. 

"I was wondering how long it would take you to notice I was standing there," Shikamaru said, not bothering to hide that he was obviously bored out of his mind. With a few steps he moved from where he was leaning against the wall in order to place a comforting had on Neji's shoulder. "Penny for your thoughts?" 

"Why bother?" Neji replied, pushing Shikamaru's hand off of his shoulder. "You already know what I'm thinking about. There's no point in pretending otherwise. Or even asking for that matter. Besides, I don't want your pity." 

Shikamaru gave Neji the same knowing look he knew infuriated him. It was just like Neji to deny that he was in need of pity at the moment (although Shikamaru himself didn't believe that anyone ever needed pity). "How about advice?" he asked. 

At this Neji raised arched a fine, dark eyebrow. "What advice could you possibly give me?" he answered with another question. 

"Who knows," Shikamaru said with shrug, "I might be able to provide you with more help than you think." 

"Then go ahead," Neji answered, still a bit unbelieving that Shikamaru could provide him with the proper advice for this situation. 

"Just let me get comfortable first. Giving advice without being comfortable is such a pain," Shikamaru gave a lazy grin. He walked around Neji over to the other male's bed and quickly plopped himself down upon it. With a sigh Neji moved over to join Shikamaru on the bed, lying down with his eyes fixated on the ceiling rather than sitting. 

There was a long pause, as Shikamaru got comfortable. He ended up shifting so he was half lying down on the bed, his elbows propping him up and his eyes looking at the same normal, crème colored ceiling that Neji was. 

"You're putting too much thought into why you care about Naruto," Shikamaru finally started. "Liking someone isn't something you can explain and those people that can, are lying. You like someone because you like someone. Attraction is something that you can't control, no matter how hard you try to do so. You can think you're the most heterosexual being alive and suddenly find yourself suddenly head over heels with not only a guy, but also a guy who's clearly not your type. My advice to you is to stop thinking about it and trying to explain it and just accept it. You like Naruto. It's as simple as that." 

There was a second pause between the two, this time as Neji thought. He took in Shikamaru's advice with his eyebrows knitted together. It made sense. Then again _everything_ that Shikamaru said made sense. There was just something that he didn't quite understand. "Exactly how did you figure this out?" Neji asked. 

Shikamaru looked over at him, mildly surprised that Neji didn't know the answer to that. "It's like this: just as a perfectly heterosexual guy can like another guy, a guy who has no interest in dating girls can easily find himself attracted to the loudest, pushiest, and most annoying girl out there." 

Just like that Neji understood. "Ino," he muttered slightly with an amused smirk on his lips. "That figures." 

Had Shikamaru been the type to glare he would've. "Tch. Sadly enough you're right," he replied. He wanted to deny it but he knew that it was true. One always is most annoyed with what they want most and Ino annoyed him more than anything. Man, he really did like her. How bothersome. 

"So why did you decide to tell me this?" Neji asked catching Shikamaru a bit off guard. 

Well, not really. He had been half expecting it anyways. He turned his head to the side, giving Neji a look of mock reproof. "All of your jumbled thoughts were giving me a headache," he explained. 

Why had he actually done it? He didn't know. So he blamed it on what Naruto would, their 'freakish telepathic connection'. 

"How long are you planning on hanging around here?" Neji asked suddenly. 

Shikamaru simply shrugged his shoulders easily in response. "I just got comfortable, so there's no point in me leaving now," he replied. "Eager to get rid of me?" 

"I don't mind so long as you don't start asking any ridiculous questions," Neji answered, knowing full well that Shikamaru wasn't the type of person to ask too many questions about any subject. His excuse was generally that it took too much effort to try and think of question and then actually listen to their answers. Of course the truth was that most of the time Shikamaru just didn't care. 

That didn't stop Neji from quickly regretting what he had just said as soon as a lazy but sly sort of grin came across Shikamaru's features. He knew what sort of teasing question was going to soon follow. Before Shikamaru could even so much as open his mouth to speak, Neji reached over and easily pushed the other off of the bed. The lazy shinobi rolled off the bed, falling onto the floor with a soft thump. 

Only a moment later Shikamaru sat up with a scowl on his features. "I didn't even get a chance to say anything," he said, offended. 

"I know," Neji replied calmly, turning his head and smirking. "That's the point." 

"Man, you're such a pain," Shikamaru scowled some more. After spending a little longer silently scowling over Neji's actions he finally picked himself up off the floor, standing in front of the bed with his hands lazily placed on his hips. "So are you planning on doing anything later?" 

Neji lifted his head, looking over at Shikamaru with a fine, dark eyebrow arched. That wasn't the sort of question he would expect from the lazy shinobi. "If I didn't know any better I would think that you were asking me out on a date." His lips tweaked into something between a smirk and a grin. 

The comment made Shikamaru's eyebrow twitch. Neji really needed to learn not to make such comments with a straight face. It was hard to tell whether he was joking or serious. "Nah, you're not my type. I can actually tolerate you most of the time," Shikamaru replied simply. Of course, when it came to making joking comments, he wasn't too different from Neji. 

Yet Neji didn't seem to be annoyed with it, like Shikamaru was. "Good to know," he simply replied. 

The two of them fell silent, no more words or teasing antics left to say for at that time. Soon enough, Shikamaru sat back on the bed a second time. By then Neji had already let his eyes slip close and was now just laying there peacefully as the silence came over the room. 

That was until Neji spoke again. "So _why_ are you wondering if I have any plans for later?" He asked, opening one of his eyes to look at the male sitting next to him. 

Shikamaru gave a casual shrug. "Figured since I have nothing else to do for the rest of the day that we might as well go out and get something to eat," he replied, moving back into the position that he was in before. 

The eye that Neji had opened slipped closed again. "Ah… so you _are_ asking me out on a date," he said with only a faint hint of a teasing note inside of his voice. As soon as those words came out though, he regretted it. He knew what was going to be coming next. 

"What can I say? You're just so girly and pretty I can't help myself," Shikamaru replied. Neji didn't need to open his eyes to know that there was now a lazy sort of grin on Shikamaru's lips. Over the years Neji's long hair had grown to be one of Shikamaru's favorite things to joke about even though the lazy shinobi had long hair himself. It just wasn't even close to being as long as Neji's was. 

He could only wonder how one managed to be such a skilled ninja with hair going down to the middle of their back. Wouldn't it get in the way? Well, Neji seemed to do just fine with it anyways. 

"It always goes back to the girl jokes," Neji finally said, letting out a loud sigh. 

The reply that followed was expected, "Maybe if you didn't have such long, shiny hair I wouldn't make them as much." 

Always, always the hair. They really needed something else to joke about. Letting out another sigh, Neji pushed himself up, opening both of his eyes and turning his head to look back at the still lounging Shikamaru. "Do you want me to go out with you later or not?" he asked, sounding slightly exasperated. 

A second casual shrug. "It doesn't matter to me. I was just thinking that might you would want to get out. But hey, if you'd rather stay home and be plagued by thoughts of Naruto all day then that's fine with me. I could care less," Shikamaru responded. It wasn't surprising. There wasn't much that Shikamaru cared about anyways. 

However this statement caused Neji to cringe. He didn't want to have to be cooped up attempting to find something to do in order to keep his mind off of Naruto. And it wasn't as if he didn't enjoy Shikamaru's company. He was a lot more tolerable then most of the people that he knew. Plus he was the only person he had frequent contact with that _didn't_ ramble on like an idiot half the time. "Fine, I'll go." 

"Just shower before you do. All that pacing made you smell bad and I would prefer if my date didn't cause people to faint from their stench when they walk by." 

There was loud thump this time, when Neji pushed Shikamaru off of the bed. 

They decided—after Shikamaru was done complaining about how Neji needed to stop pushing him off the bed, which got him pushed off the bed once again—to meet up in about an hour. They were going to eat at the Ichiraku Ramen Stand. Why, Neji couldn't quite remember. _Naruto_ was always there. It was, after all, his favorite place to be. Why wouldn't he bet there? 

He vaguely recalled Shikamaru mentioning something about Naruto having something to do and that it would be unlikely for him to show up today. He also recalled Shikamaru complaining about how it was one of the only few more inexpensive places to eat around here. Typical Shikamaru. Whatever it was, Neji had eventually given in and said that he would meet Shikamaru there later. 

Once he got there, however, Neji regretted every agreeing on going out with Shikamaru. Sitting there, with the very person that he was supposed to meet and chatting away happily as normal, was Naruto. Of _course_ Naruto was going to be there. It didn't matter whether or not he had something important to do, that's how things worked. The person you don't want to see the most at a certain time is bound to show up no matter what the situation was. 

So there Naruto was, sitting with Shikamaru and from the looks of it, he was only on his first serving of ramen. Knowing Naruto, he was going to be there for much longer. Neji definitely didn't want to have to sit there with him while all of these thoughts of newly discovered feelings boiled up inside of his mind. 

Maybe if he was quick he could get out of there before Naruto noticed. Making up an excuse to tell Shikamaru would be easy. Although Neji doubted that he would need one. It would be obvious to Shikamaru why it was that he didn't show up. He would probably figure that Neji did what he was about to do: take one look at Naruto and turn away. 

However fate is a cruel, cruel thing. Life never goes how you want it and that meant the person you don't want to see you will end up seeing you and calling out for you too. Just as Neji was about to turn away, Naruto turned towards him, squinting a bit before a large grin showed up on his face. 

"Hey, Neji!" Naruto called, grinning widely and waving for the dark haired shinobi to come and join him and Shikamaru. 

Neji found himself momentarily glued to the spot. He swallowed, as Naruto shot him an odd expression. Why was he just standing there? That was a question in which Naruto could never understand the answer. 

At that moment, Neji could feel Naruto inside of his arms. He could see the blonde boy lying there so peacefully as the blizzard raged around them. It was like an infection, a _virus_. No matter how hard Neji tried to block the image and feeling out, he just couldn't. 

It wouldn't go away. _Why_ wouldn't it go away? He didn't want to have to think about it. He didn't want to have to accept that he had feelings for Naruto. Yet as he stood there, as if he were nothing more than a statue in the middle of the walkway, Neji found himself wondering what it would be like to do more than just Naruto. What it would be like to be able to hold him close again and kiss him softly. What it would be like to have Naruto's soft breath playing over his kiss moistened lips afterwards. 

For the next moments Neji did nothing more than stare forward. He was panicking. He was panicking and thinking too much. Basically doing everything that Shikamaru had told him _not_ to do earlier. This was the only thing that Neji knew how to do. He didn't know how to accept that he had feelings for Naruto and even if he did, it seemed as if it was beyond him to actually do it. 

So he stood there, gazing forward stupidly as he tried to will his body to move. It wouldn't. If it had, Neji was sure that he would even be satisfied with running away. He never ran away. It wasn't in him to do so. Right then however it didn't seem to matter. He just didn't want to have to deal with this. 

As calmly as he could Neji turned on his heel and walked away. There was no extra pleading glance shot towards Shikamaru, as he very much so wanted to do. There was no running or even quick paced steps. He just walked away calmly, even though he was screaming on the inside. 

Naruto squinted his eyes as if to glare at Neji's departing figure. It seemed so like the Hyuga boy to depart like that but at the same time, so unlike him. He turned to Shikamaru with a scowl on his face. "What's gotten into him?" He asked, pouting a little. 

That familiar knowing look—the look that said he knew everything—came over Shikamaru's features. "He's just thinking too much," he explained, poking absentmindedly at his now cold bowl of ramen with one of his chopsticks. 

Of course Naruto couldn't understand what it was that Shikamaru was telling him. He scrunched his nose, looking at Shikamaru as if he were insane. "Both of you are weird," he commented. "Why do I always get stuck with the weird teammates?" 

"Maybe because you're weird," Shikamaru answered. 

"Maybe," Naruto replied. A moment later he paused, face growing red with anger, "Hey!" 

Eighteen. Nineteen. Twenty. Twenty-one. Twenty-two. Twenty-three. Twenty-four… 

He couldn't stand it anymore. Neji closed his eyes in frustration. He had tried to keep Naruto off of his mind. He had tried training, cooking, talking to his regular teammates (which basically meant TenTen), counting everything that he could find, hell, even at one point he had let TenTen take him _shopping_. 

Spending too much time alone with the hyper active female was traumatizing on its own but nothing could compare to shopping with her. That was what Neji had been counting one when he had agreed to go with her. If anything could get Naruto off of his mind it would be having to carry around dozens upon dozens of bags and wait for hours on end while TenTen tried on clothing, right? 

Wrong. If anything it made him think of Naruto all the more. How? He had more time to think about him. TenTen's voice, though high and squeak-like, was something that Neji had groan used to. Basically, he blocked he rants about clothing and how it made her look out without even having to think about it. 

It had now been eight days since the team returned from their mission at the Water Country. That made it two days since he had walked (although he was running inside of his mind) away from Naruto and Shikamaru at Ichiraku Ramen Stand. He was still going crazy. It was constantly gnawing at him, no matter what he did. 

Still, Neji couldn't do anything but try. He turned his attention back the tile walls of his bathroom. Where had he been? Twenty-four? He started counting again. 

Twenty-five. Twenty-six. Twenty-seven. Twenty-eight. Twenty-nine. 

He hated this. Why was it so hard not to think of Naruto? 

Thirty. Thirty-one. Thirty-two. Thirty-three. 

He never had a problem with not thinking about Naruto before. 

Thirty-four. Thirty-five. Thirty-six. 

What had changed? 

Thirty-seven. Thirty-eight. 

Everything. 

Thirty-nine. 

Neji dropped his gaze from the wall. A few steps backwards. That was all it took for him to find himself pressed up against his door. His head fell upon it with a soft thump. 

Everything had changed. Everything had changed and yet nothing had changed. 

He was still himself, Naruto was still Naruto, Shikamaru was still Shikamaru, and they were still shinobi of the hidden leaf village. They only thing was that nothing made sense any more. 

A loud sigh escaped Neji. More than anything he wanted to clear his head. These thoughts were eating away at him. They just wouldn't go away. His eyes scanned the room briefly before resting upon the shower. That sounded nice. 

Someone had once said that a shower was enough to clear anyone's head. He furrowed his brows slightly at that thought. Or maybe they hadn't and it just _seemed_ like something someone had said. No matter. A shower still sounded nice right about then. 

He took clam steps forward, approaching the shower on the other side of the room. He quickly turned on the tap, adjusting the temperature until it seemed appropriate. 

Neji let his head fall against the shower's tiled walls. The warm droplets of water sprayed against the side of his face, his shoulder, and his back. It was oddly calming to shower and Neji figured so long as he concentrated more on the warm water droplets than on thoughts of Naruto he would get through this just fine. 

So he let his eyes slide close, just taking in the feel of each pelting draw hitting his skin. Of course, the worse thing one could do whenever they couldn't get something off of their mind—or more correctly, someone—is to close their eyes. That's when the imagination likes to rear its ugly head. 

It wasn't too long before the images started to flood into Neji's mind. He envisioned Naruto before him without even realizing that he had done so. Naruto with his oddly appealing lopsided grin, messy mop of blonde hair, and bright blue eyes. He could imagine what it would be like to kiss those plush lips. They probably tasted like ramen considering how much Naruto actually ate, a thought that Neji surprisingly didn't find weird or disturbing. 

When that kiss was done, he could see Naruto taking off his forehead protector and kissing the bird-in-the-cage marking upon his forehead. Then the kisses and touches would go from there, items of clothing lost along the way. Neji could practically feel his hands gliding over Naruto's pale, smooth skin. He could almost feel the warmth radiating from the other's body, the heated breaths that fell from the other's mouth onto his own skin. 

That was when the image of Naruto sleeping once again came into Neji's mind. He still couldn't understand why he was acting this way. Well, he knew why. It was more of a sense of wanting to know that _reasoning_ behind it was the problem. Maybe he shouldn't be thinking about why and just let it happen. Just as Shikamaru said he should. 

Unconsciously, as the images flooded through his mind, Neji's hand found his chest, sliding down with a hesitant slowness. It really wasn't a big deal, right? His hand slid lower, now sliding over the taut muscles of his torso. 

"Naruto," the name fell so easily from his lips. Maybe even too easily. That was what finally caused Neji's eyes to snap open and his hand to stop in its track. He quickly turned the knob controlling the heat all the way to cold, biting down on his lower lip as the temperature turned from being a gentle warm spray to harsh, icy droplets. 

Apparently showers only seemed to make it worse. 


End file.
